Solo Un Minuto
by ladynorthstar
Summary: Leonardo x Ezio - Ezio is not able to sleep without being tormented by nightmares, but his pride doesn't allow him to admit it with Leonardo, nor ask for his support - oneshot, sequel of Bruci La Città


Two weeks had already passed since Ezio came back, on a rainy night, after nearly five months of disappearance.

Two weeks spent waking up in the dead of night, covered in cold sweat, hands trembling.

Two weeks spent carefully hiding every trace of his discomfort to Leonardo.

Maybe he was good enough at pretending, or maybe his lover was so happy to have him again to be blind to every negative implication, thing was that his façade was perfectly working. Leonardo had no idea of what his lover was going through.

All Ezio wanted was a drug capable of erasing people's dreams, as he was starting to become afraid of sleeping: every night all the weeks he spent captive were renewed vividly in his memory, everything his tormentors did to him.

He could still feel it: every millimeter of his fingernails torn out by rusty pliers, every lash of the leather whip hitting the dirty pulp of flesh and blood his back had become, every needle stinging his exposed nerves.

He could smell the disgusting reek of vinegar that kept him awake was still polluting his nostrils.

He could still hear the rats peeping, running with their little claws on the stone of his prison cell.

The water than nearly drowned many and many times, soaking the cloth that his tormentors were keeping on his face, was still stealing his breath.

The piece of glasses he was made kneel on were still penetrating his legs, tearing apart his muscles.

The ropes of the rack were still pulling his arms, dislocating his limbs with snapping, horrible sounds.

The salt was still being rubbed on his wounds, painfully stealing his screams.

The red-hot iron was still being pressed against the sole of his feet, burning like only hell can burn.

He wanted to tell Leonardo everything, he wanted to share with him every second, he wanted his pity, and his concern... but his arrogance and his pride were stronger than any desire.

No, Ezio was going to keep on lying, pretending.

But Leonardo wasn't as naive as he wished he were, it took just few days for him to notice that something was wrong.

The artist perfectly knew what happened to his lover, but Ezio had made really clear it was all behind him, and that now he was fine.

What a pathetic lie.

He tried to ask the Assassin if everything was all right a pair of timse, when he took a glimpse of a particularly tired Ezio, but he wasn't able to get any response from him.

So he did what he could without making the younger man notice: every time Ezio stayed overnight, he stayed awake, watching him moaning in pain during his sleep and wiping his sweat.

It was during one of those nights the entire lie crumbled down.

Ezio and Leonardo were sleeping at the artist's place, lying in a tight hug, their foreheads touching. There was no way Leonardo could pretend to ignore the shivers shacking Ezio's body, or his whiny groans. He didn't want to let him suffer alone any longer.

He gently shook his shoulder, to wake him up.

"Ezio, please, svegliati."

Ezio suddenly opened his eyes, gasping, grabbing Leonardo's harm like it was everything keeping him from falling into a precipice.

Leonardo became gravely worried. "Ezio!"

The Assassin's eyes were staring into the void, he wasn't fully awake yet, he was still lost in the midway.

Leonardo took his face into his hands, and looked directly into the Assassin's eyes.

"Ezio, are you ok? Ezio... amore mio..."

The younger man grabbed Leonardo's wrists, so strongly to hurt him, and in an instant his eyes were alive again. He was confused, scared, shaken.

"Leonardo..."

"I'm here, tesoro, I'm right here." he slowly closed his arms around Ezio, trapping him into a protective embrace.

Ezio hesitantly returned his hug. He wanted so much to let everything out, to scream, to cry.

"Ezio, I'm here for you, tell me everything... I won't let you down."

First it was just some tears, slow and unnoticed, and then he broke down.

His hug become a grip, his tears become sobs. Leonardo started caressing his back, slowly, silent.

Then Ezio let everything came out: every scream and tear he held back during his infinite weeks of torture. He cried for at least forty minutes, with Leonardo patiently waiting. The artist wanted to be of some help for Ezio, but he couldn't even imagine what to say, what to do... he felt so useless.

Ezio's sobs finally calmed down a bit, and clinging with more strength on Leonardo, breathing heavily and irregularly, he finally reopened his eyes. The older man kissed his right cheek, which was closer to his lips, once, then again, then he started filling with soft kisses every inch of his lover's face, without saying anything.

Ezio seemed to relax a little more, as his tense shoulder lowered a bit and his hands stopped gripping the fabric of his mate's clothes.

"Better now?"

The Assassin nodded, rubbing his red and teary eyes in the futile attempt to erase the sign of his momentary weakness. Leonardo smiled at him, and kissed his lips gently. "Why are you so upset, tesoro? What happened..."

The younger man shook his head, trying to find where to start, or how to start.

"I... I feel so damn pathetic, cazzo..."

"Don't, you have no reason to..."

"I have! I wasn't even able to escape by myself, I... merda..."

Leonardo sighed. He was already sure that when Ezio told him he escaped without help, he was telling a lie. That was just a confirmation.

"Who brought you out? Your uncle?"

"No, La Volpe... they've set a date for my execution, but so many people were willing to pay just to see my death that a great fuss was made. He found me just because I had to die..."

Leonardo took Ezio's hands, holding them, to give him some kind of support. "If such a commotion was caused just by that, it means they truly fear you... you should be satisfied, don't you think?"

The Assassin stirred a tired smile, but it was still a smile "If I rely on others then how can they rely on me?"

"No, stupido! Because you rely on them they can rely on you, Ezio!" Leonardo exclaimed, pressing his forehead against his lover's, his hands on the Assassin's cheeks. "Think about it: why there is an Assassin Order? Because you are supposed to support each other, and being supported... no one ever asked to do everything by you own, and you never did! I helped you, Paula did, your uncle did, Rosa did... we all know we can count on you because you are able to ask for help if you need it. Why are you so bothered about that then?"

Ezio didn't answer, he was concentrated in rewinding every single word Leonardo just told them in his mind: he was right. But his arrogance always claimed that he acted alone during his missions, and he was captured during his mission... he had to retrieve his freedom alone, and he failed. That was how he felt.

"Am I right, amico mio?"

"I suppose... I suppose you are, Leonardo..."

Ezio lied on his back, looking at the ceiling, to escape from his lover's eyes. So Leonardo lied down just next to him.

"Now... those nightmares..."

"I can't get it out of my head..."

"I saw your scars, amore, I can imagine why you can't..."

"When I was there Leonardo I... the only thing I wished for was for everything to end, for my life to end. I wanted to kill myself so many time, biting my tongue, but then... then I couldn't help but thinking about my father and my brothers..."

"Ezio..."

Leonardo moved closer to him, leaning his head on the man's chest.

"I was so sad, so desperate when they died, but I moved on, because I had my sister, and my mother... they needed me. They still do... I couldn't just abandon everyone. So I waited, hoping for anything to happen..."

"You were right. So move on this time too, Ezio... maybe it'll take time, but I'm here with you, you know that... I would never leave you alone, amore mio."

Ezio held the artist tightly, closing his arms around him.

"Grazie, Leonardo."

Now it was a little lighter, the burden on his hearth.

That talk didn't solve his fear of going to sleep, or didn't ensure him to be finally free from his nightmares, but Leonardo's support was more important than he thought it would be... for the first time in years he really realized how much being with Leonardo meant to him. Even if the course of events continuously kept them apart, even if the time spent without seeing each other was far longer than the time spent side by side, just one second was enough.


End file.
